Comfortable evening for Wolfe Tones

Cian Ward made a big contribution as Wolfe Tones cruised into the last four of the Keegan Cup with a comfortable victory over Dunboyne at Pairc Tailteann on Thursday evening. The county player claimed six points, but was involved in the majority of the moves which helped his side to a 1-10 to 0-5 interval lead. Ward could also have had an early goal, but was denied by a good Johnny O'Connor save. Not too far behind Ward was Mark Coleman who showed plenty of skill and strength with one point in particular fashioned out of sheer determination. Coleman won possession around the 45-metre line early in the second-half and surged away from his marker before splitting the posts for an excellent score. "I'm pleased with that performance, our objective was to work hard for the hour and we certainly cannot be faulted in that department, our work-rate, all over the field was very good," Wolfe Tones manager Cathal O Bric told the Meath Chronicle. "Evey man on the field has to work hard, if someone runs out of steam we have a strong bench and that has worked for us up to now, I don't know if it will work the next day, maybe it won't be enough, we will find out," he concluded. Wolfe Tones were quickly out of the traps and had a point on the scoreboard inside 25 seconds. Dunboyne's full-back David Gallagher gifted possession to Alan Fox and the corner forward fisted over. Two minutes later a lofted centre from Ward bounced in the square and the ball duly hopped over the bar. Dunboyne custodian O'Connor had to pick the ball out of the net in the 10th minute when Coleman got a touch to Darren McGrath's centre which gave the Tones a 1-2 to 0-0 lead. Dunboyne settled into the game after that, but by the end of the first-quarter they were still five points adrift (0-3 to 1-5). Stephen Moran, Craig Berrigan and Sean McGarrell traded points with Niall McLoughlin (two) and Fox. Wolfe Tones briefly lost some of their fluency as Dunboyne began to get a grip, but they hit back with another Niall McLoughlin point and then finished the half with a flourish of points from Ward (two), Stephen Corrigan and Coleman for a 1-10 to 0-5 interval lead. Dunboyne's paltry first-half tally was completed by Ger Robinson and Stephen McKenna. The second-half was nothing more than a matter of going through the motions for Wolfe Tones who had extended their lead to 12 points, 1-16 to 0-7 by the end of the third-quarter and they coasted for the remainder. All the hard work paid off and O Bric introduced a full complement of substitutes as the clock ticked down. One noticeable factor was the surprise which greeted a Ward free in the closing stages which tailed wide of the target. It's almost as if the Tones supporters do not expect their full-forward to make any mistakes so high is the level of expectation. Maybe he missed because there was no real pressure? Wolfe Tones - D Nolan; R Brady, C McLoughlin, C Martin; B McGinn, E Harrington, S Sheppard; S Corrigan (0-1), A Callaghan; D McGrath, N McLoughlin (0-5), M Coleman (1-2); A Fox (0-3), C Ward (0-6, two frees), P Byrne (0-1). Subs - G Beggy for McGrath 45 mins; R McDonnell for Byrne 46m; A McKeown for C McLoughlin 51m; J McKeown for Callaghan 54m; J Tiernan for McGinn 56m. Dunboyne - J O'Connor; S Hogan, David Gallagher, S McKenna (0-1); C Brennan, Denis Gallagher, G Watters; N Crawford, C Berrigan (0-1); D Clarke, T O'Connor, S McGarrell (0-2); G Robinson (0-4, two frees0, C Donohoe, S Moran (0-1). Subs - P Fagan for Denis Gallagher 36 mins; M O'Grady for Crawford 38m; G Timoney for Hogan 39m; P Watters for Moran 46m; M Confey for G Watters 48m. Referee - Jack Gordon (Walterstown).